Longer than usual RSV season prompts Texas to extend vaccine availability
The respiratory syncytial virus season is lasting unusually late in the year, moving Texas to extend the period in which the RSV vaccine is available to young children.
The RSV vaccine, which is a monoclonal antibody, will be available to infants through the end of April, said Dr. Donna Persaud, a pediatrician with Parkland Health. It is usually only available through the end of March. The vaccine will also be available to toddlers between the 8 and 19 months with underlying conditions.
Most people get infected with RSV throughout their lives, and for most healthy adults, the virus causes a cold. But the virus can cause serious complications in children younger than 5 and adults older than 65. In a typical year, RSV causes at least 58,000 hospitalizations and between 100 and 300 deaths in children younger than 5, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For people 65 and older, the virus causes at least 60,000 hospitalizations and 6,000 deaths each year.
This season, RSV peaked later than usual. In Texas, RSV cases have already peaked and are declining but still prevalent.
“RSV activity continued to circulate in the state past that March 31 typical cut off,” said Dr. Varun Shetty, the chief state epidemiologist for the Texas Department of State Health Services, during a public health meeting.
Although babies are also at high risk for developing complications for flu, Persaud said that RSV is the most common reason that infants are admitted to the hospital.
“It blocks babies’ airways because they’re smaller than everyone else’s airways,” Persaud said. She added that babies’ lungs and immune system are not as well developed, leaving them more susceptible to RSV.
Persaud, who is also the medical director of Parkland’s homeless outreach team, said parents who suspect their baby might have RSV should watch the baby’s effort in breathing, for changes in color, and for difficulty eating.
Overall, the RSV season has been of average severity, Persaud said. The flu season, which is waning in Texas, has been classified as high severity for children, according to the CDC. At least 139 children have died so far from the flu this season, the CDC said.
